Yesterday, scores of farms around the UK opened their doors for Open Farm Sunday , an annual event organised by LEAF (Linking the Environment and Food) and sponsored by our parent company Frontier Agriculture since 2008. The SOYL team across the UK supported a number of Open Farm Sunday events which our farmer customers were hosting. What thou...

WHEAT UK wheat markets under pressure Old crop and new crop wheat values made some losses this week. For old crop, consumer cover is relatively high and this week's latest Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) figures confirmed a sizeable 1.98 million tonne carryout which is 266,000 tonne higher than a year ago. The smaller h...

Disastrous planting conditions in the US continue to hamper progress. As of Monday, the reports were of 69% planted compared to the 96% average. It is difficult to quantify total crop losses until the final drilling dates and these vary in each state, however, there is already talk of 8 million acres of Prevented Planting insurance already claimed....

New season 2019 It is likely we will see a higher starting value for ammonium nitrate fertiliser in the UK this year. Recent announcements on the continent have indicated a rise of at least £20 - £25/tonne is likely. In addition, the granular urea market remains very firm and the pound has weakened; both of which lead industry commentators to predi...

WHEAT US farmers struggle with adverse weather Continued adverse weather which has prevented US farmers from completing their corn crop planting this spring remains the primary world wheat price driver. The speculative funds had built a record short position on the United States Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) corn futures market which earlier this m...

Globally, wheat prices have continued to rise on the back of the US corn planting pace. Currently the single market driver, corn planting progress is now at a record low following adverse wet weather. Crops planted at this late stage lose yield potential, with some at risk of not being planted at all. Last night, the United States Department of Agr...

Many people might assume that yield is the best indicator of whether they have got their nitrogen applications right. However, a better indicator is the protein level in the grain. Grain protein Grain protein with optimum nitrogen for yield in feed varieties is consistently about 11% (1.9%N). Bread making varieties optimise for yield at around 12% ...

WHEAT An abundance of old crop Old crop wheat continues to be offered to the market chasing a finite demand. It now seems that most millers and compounders have only the July transition gap to cover. The air of tightness around the UK balance sheet felt by the market some weeks ago has largely disappeared and now the emphasis is to off load supplie...

Remote sensing in agriculture is nothing new. However, with drones gaining more publicity over the last few years, some would argue it has felt somewhat revolutionary all over again. Rather than new sensors, what actually came along were new platforms and all too often it is only these that get the attention. We're all made aware when the latest se...

Tomorrow marks the last trading day for May London futures and, over the last few weeks, we've seen a large volume of futures tendered right the way from Edinburgh to Kent. As such, the added weight of physical grain has pushed prices around £10 lower since the start of the month. Consumers are well aware of this and are therefore in no rush to cov...

WHEAT What a difference 24 hours makes On Monday we returned to markets which were still digesting last week's bearish USDA report and under some significant pressure. Global prices were sat at contract lows and the hedge funds in America held huge short positions after bigger than expected global stocks were forecasted in the report. Spill-over pr...

It has been somewhat of a harrowing year for the OSR crop, with wide spread establishment issues followed by flea beetle larval damage leading to a number of crops unfortunately being ripped up.The remaining crops have gone on to endure some late frosts during flowering but, thanks to recent rainfall and warm weather, the good crops are now coming ...

It isn't news to emphasise that one of our key current challen ges is the well publicised yield plateau. Whenever the next thumping crop yield is announced we all want to know how it was grown and then, when we do know, we sit back and assume we could never achieve it. Often the soil type was better than ours or the nitrogen rate was extraordinaril...

The USDA's first stab at 2019/20 world wheat and corn balance sheets last Friday indicated a boost of supplies and extended the recent weak price trend. Early this week, French and London wheat futures hit new contract lows as markets reacted to the USDA forecasts for record world wheat and corn crops next season; put at 777 million tonnes and 1,17...

WHEAT The USDA published their latest monthly world supply and demand report late on Friday afternoon as well as their first estimates for next season. The report did nothing to arrest the current bearish trend for wheat and corn markets although it could be argued that their production estimates for 2019/20 are optimistic. There is plenty of weath...

WHEAT Weather and politics send markets lower Changing weather conditions brought rain to the UK and the near continent this week. This was seen as beneficial for wheat crops and triggered a fall in French and London wheat futures, pushing them down to fresh contract lows.In recent weeks, new crop wheat prices have traded in a narrow range, support...

UK feed wheat markets remain under pressure after Friday's sharp £3.80 futures sell-off. May LIFFE hasn't traded since then and open volume sitting on the exchange is around 60,000t, which could add further pressure to old crop prices if tendered. Consumer demand is understandably quiet as markets have a decidedly bearish feel to them and, for any ...

WHEAT Offered market as sellers exit Old crop markets have slipped lower during the week as more abundant supplies of both feed wheat and quality wheat seek demand. Buyers have taken the majority of their old crop cover now, however, the transition month of July to new crop could still prove interesting. Confidence grows that the UK balance sheet w...

Wheat markets took a distinctly bearish turn yesterday, with EU markets and London futures led lower by the US wheat market. The winter wheat tour got underway in the US Southern Plains and saw good looking wheat crops with strong yield potential. Yields are estimated to be well above last year and at three year highs. CBOT Hard Red Winter wheat fu...

WHEAT UK demand dwindling Old crop futures and physical prices continued to feel the pressure this week as buyers proved hard to find. Consumer buyers remain absent from the market and their hand-to-mouth approach seems to be working, as May LIFFE futures lost another £3 since returning from the Easter break. We have now entered the first notice pe...